Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Thanks, Mike, most interesting and informative. I knew that many of the companies active in Nelson County before and after Prohibition were not owned by Catholic families, what I had in mind more was whether the presence of a largely Catholic population in the County, who as you said worked in the industry but also might supply support in terms of consumers, licensed bar owners, retail vendors and generally a more tolerant attitude, assisted the survival of the industry there when it withered in so many other areas. E.g., in Europe in the South, alcohol was never viewed with the high degree of concern shown in Northern Europe, and indeed from everything I have read, people in the Southern European countries had a much saner and less moralistic view of alcohol than in the North of Europe. Also, I believe alcohol never caused the degree of social problems in, say, Italy that it did say in parts of Scandinavia. Anyway I was just speculating here and your thoughts (as always) are most valuable.

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Gary,
The Catholic community played an important role in the areas of Kentucky that are wet versus dry, but they were not the only factor. There were economic as well as social factors that helped keep areas wet. Still, you theory provides some good food for thought. Thanks for bringing it up.

I am going to look up some books on prohibition and post their titles and authors later. I hope you might find them interesting.
Mike Veach

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Bettye Jo, being a life-long fellow Kentuckian (and Baptist to boot), when a wet/dry vote is about to be called, do you know who the 2 primary forces are that form an uneasy alliance to defeat the initiative? Traditionally, it has been the Baptist women's group and the local bootleggers. The ladies don't want liquor served because of their religious convictions and the bootleggers don't want liquor legally served because they would be out of a job!

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Just on the point about potato spirit, Byrn in his 1870's book on practical distillation (Byrn was based in Philadelphia, PA) has a full chapter on distilling spirit from potatos. He talks about particular methods of mashing them and other very detailed points. White lightening was originally made from corn, wheat, barley and maybe other grains but by the mid-19th century a very large quantity of alcohol was being made from potatos.

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

The "Dry's" have been active in Texas since the 1840's. In 1843, the Republic of Texas passed what is thought to be the first local option measure in North America. In 1887, the "Dry's" engineered a state prohibition referendum and lost.....but did get a state prohibition amendment passed in 1919. Texans repealed the state prohibition amendment in 1935.....two years after the national repeal. Texas currently has 254 counties and over 1000 precincts. 51 counties are completely dry.

Here's an interesting tidbit.....possession of more than 1 quart of liquor or a single case of beer in a dry area is prima facia evidence of intent to sell. I can only imagine how many times I could have been charged with intent to sell on my return trip to Houston from Bardstown.

Re: The Politics of Prohibition

Here's an interesting tidbit.....possession of more than 1 quart of liquor or a single case of beer in a dry area is prima facia evidence of intent to sell.

I've heard anecdotes from cruise ship passengers out of Galveston and/or Houston who've witnessed the effect of this law -- citizens of other states are allowed to debark at cruise's end with whatever liquor U.S. customs allows, but Texas residents have had any in excess of a quart poured out on the spot.